The Love Campaign (Romantic Revelations Series Book 1)

by Laura Marquez Diamond

  “He did, huh,” Sebastian commented looking at Jake askance. The handsome African American man pretended to be in a deep conversation with another one of his classmates—Logan or Teagan or something, Sebastian couldn’t remember the name of every nerd Jake brought around.

  He could tell that Jake’s attention was tuned into this conversation with Lorelei. Sebastian couldn’t help but jump at the chance to return the favor of all the times Jake annoyed him.

  “You should ask him to take you to Hocking Hills State Park. Great hiking,” Sebastian said and watched as Jake’s nostrils flared. The guy was allergic to nearly everything with chlorophyll. All of Jake’s physical shape came from hard workouts indoors. Hives and mosquitoes, even soil, did not suit him one bit. “Right, Jake? Lorelei would love the great Ohio outdoors…”

  Before Jake could respond, Sebastian’s eyes were drawn to the front door. Jaya walked in with two other women he didn’t recognize. Following behind the three was a tall man, laughing at something Jaya said over her shoulder. The guy leaned in close to help her remove her coat.

  Sure, the temperature at Tapped was like a sauna compared to the chill outside. But was that a good reason for this creep to maul her coat off? To look down at her like he was enjoying the view a bit too much? Nope. Sebastian decided there were no good reasons for this man’s fawning behavior.

  Sebastian felt his throat dry up when she slipped out of her coat to reveal a sweater that was probably illegal in some states. He could not take his eyes off her. The sweater wasn’t revealingly low cut. And it was far from flashy. But it did something to make her perfectly shaped breasts even more appealing than Sebastian thought was possible. Kryptonite. Her curves were fucking kryptonite.

  She lifted her chin to look around. But then, what the fuck, the guy slipped himself right behind her—right behind Jaya—as the group walked deeper into the brewery. Sebastian’s eyes narrowed to the exact spot where the asshole placed his hand on Jaya’s ample hip. Sebastian jumped out of his chair.

  His abrupt movement drew her eyes immediately. Jaya smiled, the guy frowned, and all was almost good in the world again.

  Sebastian walked around the table and took a large step to greet her with a boisterous hug. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and it pleased him to see that guy take a step back when Sebastian lifted Jaya into his arms. Her little squeal was so fucking adorable, it made him want to growl into her soft neck. Nip it, then suck. Hard.

  He tamped those impulses down. Instead, Sebastian settled Jaya back on her feet, gave her forehead a peck, and possessively wrapped his arm around her waist so she was plastered by his side. Where a girlfriend belonged. Even a fake one.

  “Sebastian, these are my friends from Detroit. Corey, Arlene, and Patrick. They made a surprise visit today!”

  Handshakes and smiles all around, though Sebastian couldn’t help but notice Patrick’s strained features. “What brings the Detroit crew down south?” he asked the group.

  Corey flung her long hair over one shoulder, “We couldn’t let our girl date someone we never met.”

  He felt Jaya stiffen beside him. “Great game today,” the other woman, Arlene, said to him. “Nice to see a balance between all four offensive lines.”

  “I’ll tell the coach,” Sebastian said amusedly. “You all hockey experts?”

  “How do you think we know Jaya?” Arlene said. “Pee-wee champs and BFFs forever,” she said playfully and gave Jaya a wink.

  “You win pee-wee with her too?” he asked Patrick because, occasionally, Sebastian was a bit of a dick.

  Instead of being insulted, Patrick laughed. “I wish. I’m just a lifelong fan,” he stated, and Sebastian heard the claim he was making. He had a history with Jaya.

  “There are some pitchers on the table, but you all want something else? Round is on me.”

  “I’m the designated driver. I’m good,” lifelong fan Patrick said like the snob that he was.

  “I’m good with any ale,” Corey said.

  “Any of those pitchers IPA?” Arlene asked.

  As if telepathically summoned by the needs of the two women, Travis walked up and introduced himself. He offered Corey one arm and Arlene another, guiding them through the complexities of ales, IPAs, and pitchers.

  Jaya stood between Patrick and Sebastian, neither of whom seemed interested in giving an inch of ground. Up close, Sebastian noticed that the guy was even taller than his 6’1” frame. Although not as muscular as the hockey player, Jaya’s friend had the build of an athlete.

  “So, how did you two start dating?” Patrick inquired in a dry tone. “I asked Jaya, but she said you tell the story better.”

  Sebastian felt Jaya’s grasp tighten at the back of his shirt.

  “I’ve had a crush on her for a while. Ever since we first met through the Hockey-For-All program, about a year ago. She insulted me and I was a goner,” Sebastian said simply.

  Jaya turned her face and looked up at him with a frown. “When did I insult you?”

  He snorted. Sebastian couldn’t believe she looked confused. This woman who made a sport out of putting him in his place.

  “The first time I dropped off Thrashers hockey sticks. You told me I was a shitty hockey player because I got that instigator penalty the night before.” At face value, the words were a mundane account of the events as he remembered them. But the amusement in his voice seeped through because Jaya’s haughty frankness had that unlikely effect on him.

  Jaya buried her face in his armpit and groaned. “Oh my god, I remember now. I was so mad at you!”

  “Why?” Patrick nudged for more information. “Why were you mad?”

  Of course this jerk would ask, Sebastian thought. Jaya didn’t seem inclined to recall his ass-gawking, so she just shook her head. “It was nothing. I was having a grumpy day. I had just started the job as director of youth services so I imagine everything set me off.”

  “You always did have a temper,” Patrick commented a little too warmly.

  “Anyway, it took some convincing, but she finally let me buy her a drink. One thing led to another and then I got to carry her off into the sunset. Lucky me,” Sebastian said with a healthy dose of smugness.

  “Speaking of a drink, would you mind grabbing me a cider?” she asked sweetly.

  “Sure, babe,” Sebastian said and gave her hip a proprietary squeeze before walking towards the bar.

  To his surprise, Patrick said, “I’ll go with you.”

  As they waited for the bartender, a few puck bunnies slid beside Sebastian to ask for selfies. He complied before diplomatically extricating himself from their attention. Patrick watched quietly.

  After they ordered drinks, Patrick stated, “I bet that happens all the time.”

  “What?”

  “Women throwing themselves at you,” he stated with distaste.

  Sebastian spoke in a casual tone that belied his growing irritation. “I don’t know what your problem is, buddy, but you’re welcome to mind your own business.”

  Patrick looked at him and tilted his head as if he was deciding whether or not he would crush a critter. “Jaya is my business. By the way, I saw the pictures and I have to say, I thought people were reading too much into them. Anyone who really knows Jaya knows she might have just lost her shoe or something. Maybe she got hurt? I asked her about that slight limp, but she said it’s an old injury. Honestly, though, I simply can’t imagine her purposely doing something so ridiculously corny in public.”

  “That so? You know her so well, huh.” He picked up the two ciders and started walking back to the group.

  “Never thought she would date a hockey player again. After Noah,” Patrick uttered. Sebastian remembered Jaya’s cryptic explanation yesterday and paused to try to get more information. Try to understand why a failed high school relationship seemed to have such an impact.

  “Her boyfriend from high school?” he asked.

  “Yeah, he plays for Florida now. Noah Rawlings.”
>
  The fucking star defenseman and captain of the Florida Sharks? Sebastian thought. But before he could confirm, Patrick kept walking and left Sebastian behind, with two ciders and a bunch of questions.

  CHAPTER 9

  Jaya entered the crowded brewery with unease.

  It might be because of her menstrual cramps. Day two was always the worst. Or, and this was more likely, it might be because this was the first time, since Noah, that her friends were going to see her with a boyfriend. A very public and very fake boyfriend.

  This was baller-level deception for most people. An inept liar like her had every reason to feel unease.

  The three visited on a whim. They were working out at their local gym when Patrick proposed they drive the four hours to Cincinnati. All the bustle on social media, along with the sparse updates from Jaya, worried them. The three jumped at the chance for a surprise road trip.

  “What do you mean you’re in Dayton?” Jaya asked incredulously when they called.

  “About an hour away. ETA around six. Just in time for happy hour,” Arlene said from the car’s Bluetooth.

  “Is this a prank? Because if I’m changing out of my pajamas, this better not be a joke.”

  “You’re in pajamas on a Saturday night?” Arlene teased.

  “Why are you surprised,” Patrick said dryly. He knew the extent of Jaya’s love of pajamas. “And by the way, we can stay home in pajamas with you. If you want,” he added.

  “No, we can’t!” Corey proclaimed and then continued. “We’re getting drunk, and you are dishing out everything you’ve held back, bitch!”

  Corey, Arlene, and Jaya spent all of their middle school and high school years with the same hockey club, winning a pee-wee championship and competing in tournaments all over the country throughout every one of their teenage years. These were her lifelong friends.

  Jaya’s relationship with Patrick was more complicated. He was part of their bigger group of hockey friends. He was Noah’s teammate for years, although he never went on to play hockey after high school.

  The world of elite high school athletes is small. Few people understood why anyone would choose to wake up at dawn for practice, or why a teenager couldn’t eat cheeseburgers and fries on the weekend. Friends who weren’t in sports would get frustrated by long absences and unanswered calls.

  Tournaments, some of them co-ed, gave high school athletes a unique understanding of the responsibilities and the freedoms of team travel. The sport of hockey, and the kids’ extreme passion for it, provided reason to stick together. Their group stayed pretty tight, especially during the years that Jaya and Noah were dating. When shit hit the fan during the disastrous breakup with Noah, Patrick took Jaya’s side. She would always be grateful.

  A few years ago, Patrick expressed more serious feelings for Jaya. It pained her to reject those kinds of advances, but she could never see him as more than a friend. And because he’s a great guy, Patrick backed off graciously.

  She averted most of her friends’ questions over dinner, promising more information when they met up with her new “boyfriend.” Promising they would enjoy getting to know him as much as he was looking forward to meeting them.

  Patrick and Sebastian were waiting for her drink, both leaning over the bar with heads close. However, when they turned around, lips were stern and brows furrowed. From her vantage point, Jaya saw Sebastian nearly stumble at something Patrick said. Her friend kept walking. His expression was part smirk, part disdain, as he left the hockey player behind.

  Patrick slipped into the stool on her right. Half a beat later, Sebastian shouldered his way past Jake to wiggle by her other side. He handed her a glass of cider and offered a clink against his glass. Instead of sitting on a stool, Sebastian stood close. Jaya felt half cocooned against his body.

  She let the table’s conversations flow over her since she was too conscious of Sebastian’s heat to pay attention to much else. He was doing that thing with his thumb too. Lightly tracing it over the knuckles of her left hand while his other hand lay on her outer hip. She knew these public displays of affection were part of their ruse. However, truth be told they made her, well, thirsty. She let a gulp of cider cool her head and settle her nerves.

  Because as casual as Sebastian looked to everyone else, he seemed determined to make her crazy. With his devious thumb and muscular thighs. His deep rumbling laugh that she felt through his chest. His clean shower smell mixed with an aroma distinctly Sebastian. Detergent and…cookies. How weird was she to even get off on that combination? To even notice that combination?

  “Hmm?” she was shaken out of her reverie by a question.

  “I said where are your friends staying tonight? At your place? Do you even have space?” Sebastian inquired.

  “She does,” Patrick answered quickly.

  Jaya turned her head side to side, trying to get a handle on the weird dynamic between Patrick and Sebastian. “I have that pull-out sofa. They helped me move and visited me plenty of times,” she answered. “We manage.”

  “That so?” Sebastian asked. “Because if you need me to give up my bedroom, I’m happy to do it.”

  “We manage,” Patrick repeated before she could answer. “We’ve bunked together plenty of times.”

  “You and Jaya?” Sebastian asked with notable irritation.

  Patrick’s dismissive shrug was his answer. “Hey, remember when we were in Dublin in that hostel that was a converted church?”

  Jaya shuddered at the memory. “Crap, don’t remind me!”

  “What?” Sebastian prodded.

  “I was in England for a study abroad trip one summer and Patrick was visiting someone in Spain or something? We met up in Ireland for a weekend,” she said.

  “The hostel’s sleeping arrangements were divided by gender,” Patrick continued with amusement in his voice. “We went out all night and when we got back, she headed to her wing. Thirty minutes later, she’s sneaking into my bed.”

  Jaya shoved Patrick and said, “You make me sound so shady. The place was haunted! At first it was a weird noise in the bathroom, so I thought maybe the pipes were just old. But when I lay down…” she paused and then whispered. “Save me…”

  “Save me?” Sebastian echoed.

  “Yeah! A voice was whispering in my ear like a chant…save me, save me, save me,” she mimicked the sound of someone in a trance. “I fucking ran.”

  Patrick seemed disproportionally pleased when he said, with a snicker, “Right into my bed.”

  “Soooo, what are you saying? When you’re in Cincinnati you two actually,” Sebastian paused, lowered his voice, and made an uncharacteristically sour face, “sleep together?”

  “Not sleep together, sleep together,” Jaya replied. “Just share a bed. It isn’t a big deal. Patrick’s one of my oldest friends.”

  Sebastian pinched his lips as if to censor his comment.

  Satisfied with Sebastian’s discomfort, Patrick changed the subject. “The fundraising campaign is doing well. Jaya said you’re a big part of it.”

  “He’s the face of the campaign,” she said, nudging her elbow to his body.

  “And…What. A. Face,” Corey piped with exaggerated emphasis from across the narrow, counter-height table.

  “Are you flirting with Jaya’s boyfriend?” Arlene asked as she put her arm over Corey’s shoulder and pecked her cheek.

  “Do you want me to?” Corey droned in a coy voice directed at Sebastian.

  “Oh, I think he does,” Arlene answered. Both women were leaning on their forearms, gazes expectantly drilled at Sebastian. Jaya felt his grip tighten on her hip and she laughed.

  “They’re just fucking with you, BB,” she said in a cloyingly sweet voice. “You’re not their type.”

  “BB?” Arlene asked. “That’s adorable!”

  “You two need a couple name, something that combines BB and Jaya,” Corey said.

  “You mean BJ?” Travis said dryly. Jaya put her hands over her face whil
e everyone cackled. The comment was crass, but she had to admit it was exactly the kind of thing she had come to expect from Travis who seemed determined to have a punchline.

  After play shoving Travis across the table, Sebastian said to her, “Don’t mind Travis.”

  She just shook her head and rolled her eyes. “I brought up your nickname to tease you. It’s partially my fault, though how Travis went from couple names straight to blowjob is kind of impressive,” she retorted lightly.

  His mouth opened but nothing came out. Then, Sebastian leaned into her ear to whisper, “I’m going to need a warning when words like blowjob come out of your mouth.” And because they were pressed together by the crowd, she knew exactly why. Their faces were so close she could see the individual stubbles on his jaw, the heavy layers of his eyelashes, and the flickering blues of his eyes. Eyes that were glued to her mouth.

  “Oh no, I think we just went from PG to rated R, folks,” Arlene teased. “You do that a lot, Travis?”

  “Do what?” Travis asked innocently.

  “Make everybody listen to your bullshit,” Sebastian muttered. “And the answer is yes, his mind is always in the gutter,” he continued as a response to Arlene’s question.

  “So, Travis. What do you know about blowjobs? I mean BB…” Corey’s pretend gaff made everyone groan.

  “BB is his mom’s nickname for him,” Travis answered. “I’ve known this clown since we were kids. I guess kind of like you, beautiful women. We were part of a hockey program similar to the one Jaya volunteers in, Hockey-For-All. You know, for poor kids.”

  “Underprivileged,” Patrick corrected.

  Travis looked at him as if he noticed the guy for the first time. “No. Poor,” he said dismissively. “Anyway, that’s why Sebastian keeps pushing the Thrashers to support these charities. And why he does it himself as much as possible. He’s a sucker for helping kids.”

  “Aww,” Corey and Arlene said together.

  “Just like our Jaya,” Arlene declared. Jaya looked sideways and saw that Sebastian’s blush matched the heat on her cheeks.

  “We’ve got an interview coming up on Wednesday,” Sebastian offered to change the subject. “To promote the campaign.”